Decorative bowling ball and method therefor

ABSTRACT

A method of applying an image to bowling balls. The method includes printing the image onto a transfer sheet with sublimation inks. The printed transfer sheet is placed to envelope an outer surface layer formed of polyester or urethane of a bowling ball. Heat and pressure is applied uniformly to the transfer sheet to cause the sublimation inks to diffuse into the polyester or urethane surface layer of the bowling ball. A high quality durable image is thus applied to the bowling ball without affecting the performance or altering surface of the bowling ball.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to the field of bowling balls andparticularly to the field of making decorative bowling balls.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] The sport of bowling has evolved over the centuries into it'spresent form of ten-pin or lane bowling. In this game, a bowling ballhaving fixed finger holes is rolled down a lane towards ten pinsarranged in a triangular pattern. The player knocking down the most pinsover a series of frames wins the game.

[0003] The size and shape of the ten-pin bowling ball commonly used inthe United States and other countries is relatively standard,particularly in competitive bowling. These balls come in differentcolors and finishes and occasionally will have engraving or decalsapplied to them. Beyond that, there is little to distinguish the ballsor to provide individuality to different balls.

[0004] Various techniques have been attempted in the past to provide aunique and individual appearance to bowling balls. For instance, decalshave been applied. There have even been attempts at silk screeningimages directly onto the bowling balls.

[0005] These attempts have not been successful in the past due to theshape, surface and use of the bowling balls. The surface finish ofbowling balls is critical to the use of the balls. The interaction ofthe bowling lane, the surface finish of the bowling ball and thetechnique of the bowler allow the bowler to “hook” or curve the ball asit travels down the bowling lane to provide a desired trajectory for theball to strike the pins. The trajectory of the ball in striking the pinsinfluences the number of the pins struck and of the pins striking otherpins. Thus, the use of external printing, decals, coatings or otherapplications on the surface of the bowling ball will affect theperformance of the ball. Also, these external applications are notparticularly durable due to the aggressive pounding, striking andfrictional resistance between the balls, lanes and pins. Further, theballs are frequently cleaned. These harsh cleaners have also removed theprior art images and decals from the bowling balls.

[0006] Most bowling balls range being formed from hard rubber compoundsthat were popular from the turn of the century until about 1960 to resincompounds that are popular at present. Bowling balls manufactured atpresent are either made of a uniform density resin compound throughoutor have a rubber or resin cover material encapsulating a conventionalinner core. Some bowling balls may even include a weight in the centerof the bowling ball to improve it's hooking characteristics.

[0007] There have been previous attempts to apply images to otherproducts, but none successfully to bowling balls. For example, U.S. Pat.No. 5,851,331 discloses applying images through sublimation to skis,surfboards, snowboards, skateboards and the like. That process requiresapplying a transparent layer to the object and then applying a varnishlayer over the applied image. This would not be suitable to bowlingballs as the additional layers would disrupt the performance of thebowling ball.

[0008] A technique for applying an image to a golf putter is disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,650. This technique includes applying anadditional layer on which the image is to be applied at a non-strikingportion of the putter. This also would disrupt the performance ofbowling balls

[0009] There have been other applications for applying images throughsublimation to specific objects. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,035,777,discloses a process of transferring a sublimation ink image to a FlowerPot; U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,931 discloses a method and apparatus forprinting a sublimation transfer onto mugs with handles; U.S. Pat. No.5,832,819 discloses a method for transferring an image onto an objecthaving curved surfaces; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,900 discloses acomposite article for sublimation-printing and method of manufacture.None of these applications are suitable for use with bowling ballswithout affecting their performance.

[0010] Thus, there is presently a need for a method to apply uniqueimages to the surface of a bowling ball in such a manner that is durableand will not affect the performance of the bowling ball.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The present invention provides a solution to these needs andothers. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method forapplying images directly onto the outer surface of bowling balls hasbeen developed. The method of the present invention includes applying animage through sublimation onto an outer surface layer formed of across-linked plastic material, such as polyester or certain urethanematerials. This outer surface is receptive of the diffused sublimationdyes when heat and pressure is applied to an image on a transfer sheet.

[0012] The sublimation process, as is well known, occurs through thephase changes of dispersed dyes diffusing into the surface layer. Priorproducts onto which sublimation has been used typically require porouslayers, such as textiles or require a coating to be applied on which theimage is applied. Another varnish or coating is then applied to preservethe image.

[0013] The present invention solves these problems by using a polyesterouter surface layer on the bowling ball itself that has sufficienthardness required for bowling. Alternatively, urethane or othermaterials can be used for this outer layer. These materials includecross-linking properties to increase the durability of the sublimatedimage.

[0014] The image can include virtually any graphic, photograph, logo,text, color, pattern or any other image desired. The selected image canbe processed for color, size, shape, pattern, etc. and converted intoprinter signals, silk screened or by other printing techniques. Theimage is then printed with sublimation inks onto a transfer sheet.Preferably, the transfer sheet is flexible so to surround the bowlingball.

[0015] Heat and pressure is then applied to the transfer sheet aroundthe bowling ball. Several techniques are available for applying the heatand pressure to the bowling ball and transfer sheet, such as aheat-press having a cavity in the shape of the bowling ball, or byapplying a vacuum to flexible membranes surrounding the bowling ball,and by other techniques.

[0016] The image is transferred by heat and pressure to the bowling ballby the dispersed dyes of the sublimation inks diffusing into thepolyester or urethane outer layer of the bowling ball. This appliedimage is high quality and durable and will not affect the performance ofthe bowling ball.

[0017] These and other features will be evident from the drawings andthe detailed description of preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018]FIG. 1 is a view of a typical bowling ball having an image appliedthereto in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention.

[0019]FIG. 2 is a cutaway view of the bowling ball of FIG. 1.

[0020]FIG. 3 is a view of a flexible membrane heat press of a preferredembodiment of the present invention.

[0021]FIG. 4 is a view of a heat press of a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0022] The present invention provides a method and systems for applyingimages to the surface of a bowling ball. In the preferred embodiment,the present invention is able to do so in a manner that provides along-lasting durable image without affecting the performance of thebowling ball.

[0023] The method of applying an image to the surface of a bowling ball,in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, is illustrated inFIGS. 1-4. It is to be expressly understood that this description of apreferred embodiment is provided for explanatory purposes only and isnot meant to limit the scope of the claimed inventions. Otherembodiments are considered to be within the inventive scope of as setforth in the claims.

[0024] Bowling ball 10, shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, includes an inner core12 formed of a material such as graphite, urethane, rubber or othermaterials conventionally used in forming bowling balls. In some models,not shown, the inner core 12 may also include a weight member as well.Bowling ball 10 also includes an outer shell or “coverstock” 14. Thecoverstock 14, in the preferred embodiment, has a thickness between afew millimeters to several centimeters. Coverstock 14 is, in thepreferred embodiment, formed of polyester resin. The polyester materialused in forming the coverstock 14 includes the property of having aminimum ball surface hardness of 72 Shore D durometer, in accordance ofthe regulations of the American Bowling Congress specifications. It isto be expressly understood that other hardnesses can be used as well,such as for recreational bowlers. Alternatively, the entire ball couldbe formed as a single structure of polyester material. Coverstock 14 mayalso be formed of certain urethane materials that have cross-linkingproperties and the minimum ball surface hardness as well. Bowling ball10 may be of any color resin as conventionally available. In thepreferred embodiment, bowling ball 10 is preferably opaque, white ortransparent colors to enhance the applied image.

[0025] Bowling ball 10 also includes finger holes 16. Typically,regulation bowling balls have a circumference ranging from 26.704 inchesto 27.002 inches, as regulated by the American Bowling Congressspecifications. Other sizes may also be used under the scope of thepresent inventions as well.

[0026] A digital, silk screen or other type of printed image is preparedfor applying onto such bowling balls. In the preferred embodiment, theimage may be scanned with a conventional scanner, it may be preparedfrom a digital graphics package, it may be available from a digitalimage library, downloaded from the Internet, taken with a digital cameraor from any other digital source. It is to be expressly understood thatother types of printing, such as silk-screening, offset printing, etc.,can be used as well to create the printed image on the transfer sheet.

[0027] The digital image can be of any image. For example, a name ornickname could be used, a team or company logo, photographs of anyperson or any other image that may be desired can be used. Additionally,most combination of colors may be used as well. The image may also be agraphic pattern, solid color or combination of graphic patterns andcolors. The only limitation is that of the size of the ball on which theimage is to be applied.

[0028] Once the digital image has been obtained, it may be necessary to“process” the image. This processing would simply be to ensure that theimage that is to be applied is the desired size and shape, that anydefects in the image is corrected and that the colors of the image arematched between the devices, such as the image source device, theprinter (discussed below) and other devices, such as a monitor. Thisprocess can be done automatically, or in another preferred embodiment,skipped all together. The digital image is then converted to printercontrol signals either at the processor or at the printer.

[0029] The digital image is then sent electronically to a printer. Theprinter uses sublimation inks, such as solid dyes, semi-solid dyes,waxes, ink-jet, toners or other sublimation printing techniques such assilk screen, electrostatic, offset or rotogravure printing. In thepreferred embodiment, the sublimation inks use dispersed dyes, such asazo dyes, nitroary-lamine dyes and anthaquinone dyes. Other types ofinks and dyes may be used as well that enable sublimation orheat-activated application of images. The sublimation inks used in thisprocess are commercially available from numerous sources. The preferredembodiment includes commercially available sublimation printers, such asink-jet printers, thermal transfer printers, wax-based printers, solidink printers, laser printers, electrostatic printers, offset printers,silk-screen printers and other such printers for use in sublimationprinting.

[0030] The printer prints the image onto a transfer sheet with thesublimation inks. The transfer sheet can be plain paper, textiles,polyvinyl, polyester or other plastic materials, depending on theapplication process used. Again, these transfer sheets are commerciallyavailable.

[0031] In the preferred embodiment, the printed transfer sheet is thenplaced on the outer surface 20 of the bowling ball under pressure. Heatis then applied to the printed transfer sheet as well. For example,temperature in the range of 220 degrees F. to 400 degrees F. might beapplied for about thirty seconds up to 30 minutes. The temperature,pressure and time ranges are dependent upon the type of sublimation inkused in the process, the material of the outer surface layer of thebowling ball, and other interdependent factors.

[0032] The heat and pressure applied to the transfer sheet causes thesublimation inks to diffuse through phase change of the ink into a vaporor gas form. The dispersed dyes of the ink diffuses into the polyesterouter surface of the bowling ball a depth of several microns beneath theouter surface. The attachment of the diffused dyes of the ink to thecross-linking properties of the polyester or urethane material of thecoverstock 14 of the bowling enhance the durability of the appliedimage.

[0033] In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, thetransfer sheet may be applied to a portion of the bowling ball 10, or tothe entire ball. It is preferred that the transfer sheet be applieduniformly against the bowling ball to eliminate wrinkles and folds thatmight cause imperfections in the image or on the outer surface of theball. There are several techniques available to do this.

[0034] One technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,426, issued toClaveau and incorporated herein by reference. This technique involvesusing a air-permeable flexible material as the transfer sheet. Thistransfer sheet envelopes the object onto which the image is to beapplied. A vacuum is introduced to draw the transfer sheet against theobject and heat is then applied.

[0035] Another alternative technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.5,798,017 and 5,893,964, issued to Claveau, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,670,084,issued to Durand, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.This technique is similar to the above technique but uses a flexiblemembrane to uses a flexible membrane placed under a vacuum to applypressure against the transfer sheet.

[0036] In this preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 3, the systemincludes a bed having a surface shaped to receive a bowling ball. Thetransfer sheet bearing the printed image is placed around the bowlingball. The transfer sheet, which as discussed above, is preferably aflexible, stretchable sheet. A flexible membrane 300 is then placedaround the transfer sheet and the bowling ball. In the preferredembodiment, the surface of the bed for receiving the bowling ball may beformed of a flexible membrane as well. Alternatively, the bed is formedseparately from the membrane.

[0037] A vacuum 310 is applied to draw the membrane into pressurizedengagement with the transfer sheet and the bowling ball and the bed. Themembrane and/or bed are then heated to cause the dyes to sublimate intothe outer surface of the bowling ball. This heating can be done byradiant heating units around the membrane and/or bed or by placing thebed into an oven unit.

[0038] An alternative preferred embodiment is to use a shrink-wrapmaterial as the transfer sheet or to envelope the transfer sheet with ashrink-wrap material. As heat is applied to this material, the materialshrinks to apply pressure to the image. A similar technique is discussedin U.S. Pat. No. 5,962,368, issued to Poole and incorporated herein byreference.

[0039] Another alternative preferred embodiment, shown in FIG. 4, is touse a heat press 400 having a cavity 410, 412 formed in the shape of thebowling ball. The cavity may include resilient heat transmitting pads tocompensate for differing sizes of balls. The transfer sheet is placedaround the bowling ball. The transfer sheet and bowling ball is thenplaced in the cavity. The heat press having a mating cavity is placedover the exposed portion of the bowling ball and transfer sheet. Theappropriate heat and pressure is then applied to the bowling ball totransfer the image through sublimation.

[0040] It is to be expressly understood that other embodiments arewithin the scope of the claimed inventions. Other techniques forapplying the transfer image uniformly around a bowling ball, such as byadhesives are within the claimed inventions. Other techniques forapplying pressure and heat uniformly around the transfer sheet and thebowling ball are also within the claimed inventions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for applying a durable image to theouter surface of a bowling ball, said method comprising the steps of:applying ink capable of sublimation in the form of an image to atransfer sheet; providing a bowling ball having an outer surface formedof a material having cross-linking resins and a surface hardnesssufficient to meet the demands of bowling; placing said transfer sheetagainst the outer surface of the bowling ball; applying uniform pressureagainst said transfer sheet; and applying heat to said transfer sheet sothat said ink sublimates into the outer surface of said bowling ball. 2.The method of claim 1 wherein said step of placing said transfer sheetagainst the outer surface of a bowling ball includes: placing saidtransfer sheet around the entire bowling ball.
 3. The method of claim 1wherein said step of providing a bowling ball includes: providing abowling ball having an outer surface layer formed of polyester.
 4. Themethod of claim 1 wherein said step of providing a bowling ballincludes: providing a bowling ball having an outer surface layer formedof urethane.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of applyinguniform pressure against said transfer sheet includes: placing thebowling ball and transfer sheet into a flexible membrane; and applying avacuum to the flexible membrane to create uniform pressure around thebowling ball and transfer sheet.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein saidstep of applying uniform pressure against said transfer sheet includes:placing a shrink-wrap element around the bowling ball and transfersheet; and applying heat to said shrink-wrap element to create uniformpressure around the bowling ball and transfer sheet.
 7. The method ofclaim 1 wherein said step of applying uniform pressure against saidtransfer sheet includes: providing a heat press system having a cavityfor holding the bowling ball and transfer sheet.
 8. The method of claim1 wherein said step of applying heat against said transfer sheetincludes: providing a heat press system having a cavity for holding thebowling ball and transfer sheet.
 9. A bowling ball having decorativegraphics, said bowling ball comprising: an outer surface layer formed ofa material having cross-linking resins and a surface hardness adequatefor the needs of bowling; and an image printed with sublimation inksapplied to said outer surface layer under heat and pressure.
 10. Thebowling ball of claim 9 wherein said outer surface layer includes: apolyester material.
 11. The bowling ball of claim 9 wherein said outersurface layer includes: a urethane material.
 12. The bowling ball ofclaim 9 wherein said bowling ball includes: said image printed withsublimation inks is applied to said bowling ball by printing said imageonto a transfer sheet; placing said bowling ball and said transfer sheetinto a flexible membrane; applying a vacuum to said flexible membrane tocreate uniform pressure around said bowling ball and said transfersheet; and applying heat to said transfer sheet to cause said image tobe applied to said outer surface by sublimation of said sublimation inksinto said outer surface.
 13. The bowling ball of claim 9 wherein saidbowling ball includes: said image printed with sublimation inks isapplied to said bowling ball by printing said image onto a transfersheet; placing a shrink-wrap element around said bowling ball and saidtransfer sheet; applying heat to said shrink-wrap element to createuniform pressure around said bowling ball and said transfer sheet; andapplying heat to said transfer sheet to cause said image to be appliedto said outer surface by sublimation of said sublimation inks into saidouter surface.
 14. The bowling ball of claim 9 wherein said bowling ballincludes: said image printed with sublimation inks is applied to saidbowling ball by printing said image onto a transfer sheet; providing aheat press system having a cavity for holding said bowling ball and saidtransfer sheet; and applying heat and pressure to said transfer sheet tocause said image to be applied to said outer surface by sublimation ofsaid sublimation inks into said outer surface.
 15. A system for applyingimages to bowling balls having an outer surface layer formed of amaterial having cross-linking resins and a surface hardness adequate towithstand bowling, said system comprising: means for printing an imageonto a transfer sheet with sublimation inks; and means for applyinguniform pressure and heat to said printed transfer sheet against theouter surface layer of a bowling ball to transfer the printed image fromsaid printed transfer sheet to the outer surface layer by sublimation ofthe sublimation inks from said printed transfer sheet into the outersurface layer of the bowling ball.
 16. The system of claim 15 whereinsaid means for applying uniform pressure and heat to said printedtransfer sheet against the outer surface layer of a bowling ball totransfer the printed image from said printed transfer sheet to the outersurface layer by sublimation of the sublimation inks from said printedtransfer sheet into the outer surface layer of the bowling ballincludes: a flexible membrane for holding a bowling ball and saidprinted transfer sheet; means for applying a vacuum to the flexiblemembrane to create uniform pressure around the bowling ball and saidtransfer sheet; and means for applying heat to said transfer sheet totransfer the printed image from said printed transfer sheet to the outersurface layer of the bowling ball.
 17. The system of claim 15 whereinsaid means for applying uniform pressure and heat to said printedtransfer sheet against the outer surface layer of a bowling ball totransfer the printed image from said printed transfer sheet to the outersurface layer by sublimation of the sublimation inks from said printedtransfer sheet into the outer surface layer of the bowling ballincludes: a shrink wrap element for wrapping around a bowling ball andsaid printed transfer sheet; means for applying heat to said shrink wrapelement to create uniform pressure around the bowling ball and saidtransfer sheet; and means for applying heat to said transfer sheet totransfer the printed image from said printed transfer sheet to the outersurface layer of the bowling ball.
 18. The system of claim 15 whereinsaid means for applying uniform pressure and heat to said printedtransfer sheet against the outer surface layer of a bowling ball totransfer the printed image from said printed transfer sheet to the outersurface layer by sublimation of the sublimation inks from said printedtransfer sheet into the outer surface layer of the bowling ballincludes: a heat press having a cavity for holding a bowling ball andsaid printed transfer sheet; means on said heat press for applying auniform pressure around the bowling ball and said transfer sheet; andmeans on said heat press for applying heat to said transfer sheet totransfer the printed image from said printed transfer sheet to the outersurface layer of the bowling ball.